Canadaâs money laundering watchdog has given Vancouver-based crypto exchange Xeltox Enterprises (operating as Cryptomus) its largest fine to date.
Xeltox representatives from Uzbekistan and Spain told the company had no employees working in Canada.
The nearly $177-million penalty stems from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) finding almost 2,600 violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. The act requires financial institutions to maintain certain compliance standards, as well as record and report certain types of transactions to FINTRAC. The fine firmly eclipses FINTRACâs previous record-setting levy of nearly $20 million against another crypto exchange, KuCoin, last month.
The agency said Cryptomus allegedly committed six types of violations, including failing to submit suspicious transaction reports linked to known sites of criminal activity, such as trafficking in child sexual abuse materials, on more than 1,000 occasions.
âGiven that numerous violations in this case were connected to trafficking in child sexual abuse material, fraud, ransomware payments, and sanctions evasion, FINTRAC was compelled to take this unprecedented enforcement action,â FINTRAC CEO and director Sarah Paquet said in a statement.
Cryptomus also failed to report large, single cryptocurrency transactions of $10,000 or more on over 1,500 occasions, just within July 2024, and 7,557 transactions originating from Iran. The latter contravenes a minister’s directive to maintain a record of, and report, all transactions from the country to FINTRAC.
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FINTRAC says Cryptomus is incorporated in British Columbia under a Vancouver address, but during a March 2025 examination of the company, Xeltox representatives from Uzbekistan and Spain told the agency it had no employees working in Canada. Sabina Salim Kizi Berdieva, its sole director, is from Uzbekistan, and the Cryptomus trademark was filed in Canada by a native of Kazakhstan, according to FINTRAC.
In a statement, FINTRAC said the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion are rising alongside Canadaâs virtual currency sector. The agency added that the sectorâs vulnerabilities âsignificantly impairâ transparency and accountability, making it âsusceptible to exploitation by illicit actorsâ if proper measures are not taken.
FINTRAC fined the worldâs largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, $6 million last year for committing two violations of the same anti-money laundering act. The agency said Binance failed to register as a foreign money services business and to report large virtual currency transactions, a decision the exchange later appealed.
The upcoming federal budget, scheduled for Nov. 4, is expected to create a new financial crimes agency to tackle money laundering and fraud.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Kanchanara.